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A Comparison of Major Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, macOS

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A Comparison of Major Operating Systems

Contents
Difficulty in Building an Operating System ................................................................................................. 2
Linux ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Operability ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Strength ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Weakness .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Competitive Edge...................................................................................................................................... 6
Windows ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Operability ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Strength ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Weakness .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Competitive Edge...................................................................................................................................... 8
macOS ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
Operability ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
Strength ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
Weakness .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Competitive Edge...................................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 9
2|Page

Difficulty in Building an Operating System

By today's standard of OS (operating system) and the requirements of applications, security, and

laws it will be very difficult to build a good functioning securely, and evolving OS. This may be

why we have only three major OS in the world today: Linux, Windows, and macOS. OS is a

platform that involves hardware, software, and people so this requires a massive continuous

collaboration to build, maintain and evolve the OS. An OS needs the collaboration of good

designers and programmers as many different functionalities and services must be designed,

coded, and integrated to work together such as bootloader, system calls, file system, ability to

execute a file, a shell, and multiprocessing, etc. (Black, 2009).

The challenges and difficulties will also vary depending on the type of OS being built. For

example, for Internetware OS “technical challenges still need to be resolved, including the

architecture of Internetware OSs, performance and applicability issues, as well as security and

privacy considerations” (Mei & Guo, 2018).

There are several aspects that will be difficult to build and evolve. For example, we know that

OS should allow multiple computations to take place concurrently, divide the hardware’s time

between the computations, keep track of where each one leaves off so that it can later correctly

resume, control the interactions between the concurrent computations, forbid computations from

modifying data structures, provide isolated areas of memory for private use by the different

computations and provide support for controlled interaction of computations across time and
3|Page

space (Hailperin, 2019). These give rise to the issues of concurrency, deadlock, synchronization,

virtual memory, and security. Any programmer of a complicated system requiring these

functionalities is likely to introduce race bugs and security loopholes because concurrency and

synchronization for example are hard to reason about (Hailperin, 2019).

Designing fast GUI for example can be difficult that does not crash or hang often or slows down.

Also choosing a good shell interface and implementing it's functionalities will require careful

analysis of existing shells and perhaps backward compatibility. These issues also make designing

and implementing OS very difficult.

An important but difficult aspect is how theory transitions to actual coding, if there is any use of

assembly language or rather which programing languages may be used to implement some of

these OS functionalities. Also there may be context or situation when concurrency fails and

considering the implications and remedy for such a situation become difficult.

Linux

The Linux operating system is used on a wide range of devices, including smartphones,

automobiles, supercomputers, home appliances, personal PCs, and business servers. Since its

introduction in the middle of the 1990s, Linux has grown to have a global user base (Linux,

2018).

Early in the 1990s, Linus Torvalds developed the open-source Linux Operating System. Linux,

which is based on UNIX, enables users to alter the existing code and create various distributions

or versions of it, which they can then use and even sell. The majority of websites on the internet
4|Page

are served by systems powered by one of Linux's distributions since it has emerged as the

leading choice for putting up servers. The OS is also widely used in computers, smartphones,

gaming consoles, eBook readers, and many more devices (Bhattia, 2022).

Operability

Linux easily defeats Windows in terms of speed. When using numerous processes, Linux, in

contrast to Windows, tends to reduce "bogging." Linux's Ext4 file system does a great job of

maintaining the device's efficiency. Linux no longer supports defragmentation. Any Windows

OS can be slowed down to unacceptable and agonizing levels by even reasonable and minimal

use; this can only be prevented by strictly adhering to a use plan. When several processes are

active, memory and disc hogging frequently occurs. Users of Linux benefit from an operating

system that respects their privacy. Additionally, Linux systems come with built-in, cutting-edge

encryption, so users can be confident of improved security and less intrusion from other apps. In

general, Linux is safer than Windows. Linux still has attack vectors, but because of its open-

source technology, anyone may review the vulnerabilities, which speeds up and simplifies the

process of finding and fixing them. Since its debut, the Linux operating system has placed a

major emphasis on uptime, process control, and system security. Linux has never strayed from

putting this emphasis over the years. As a result, it can be referred to as a well-known secure and

dependable operating system (Achodio, 2009; Bhattia, 2022; Software Testing Help, 2019). So,

in terms of these operability metrics, Linux is an excellent OS.

Features

The Linux OS consists of several components: the bootloader, the kernel, the init system,

daemons, graphical server, desktop environment, and various applications (Linux, 2018). Linux

shows how much total system memory is currently used, cached, buffered, or free, shows how
5|Page

much time the CPU spends performing system and user duties, stealing jobs from virtual

operating systems, waiting for I/O to finish, and processing pleasant tasks, shows the amount of

work that a computer system performs like Windows and macOS, tracks growth or reduction in

the amount of available disk space used like windows and macOS and other features such as disk

utilization, queuing, latency and throughput (Operating System Performance Metrics, n.d.).

Strength

Linux is an OS where you would battle less with obstacles like viruses, malware, slowdowns,

crashes, costly repairs, and licensing fees (Linux, 2018). Linux is also open source which means

it is flexible to use, changes can be made easily, and distributions can be shared among peers and

updated easily. Every type of user can utilize one of the many versions of Linux. You can select

a "variant" of Linux to suit your needs, whether you're a novice user or a die-hard. Distributions

(or "distros" in the short form) are the names for these variations. Almost all Linux distributions

are available for free download, burning to disc (or USB thumb drive), and installation (on as

many machines as you like) (Linux, 2018).

Weakness

Some device drivers are not available for Linux, which is one of the problems that most Linux

users encounter. Because they have more customers than Linux, hardware manufacturers choose

to create drivers for Windows or Mac. Beginners can easily get up and running with Windows,

but understanding Linux is challenging. The command-line interface requires some learning, and

finding new software can be challenging. Finding a remedy is difficult if you experience any

operating system issues. Compared to Windows and Mac, Linux has fewer experts. Also, there

are not many software alternatives for Linux. Consider the popular graphic editing program

Photoshop as an illustration. Photoshop can be found on Windows, but not on Linux. Although
6|Page

there is various photo altering software, Photoshop is the most effective. Another example of a

program that is unavailable to Linux users is Microsoft Office. Games are typically created for

Windows, but not Linux. Game developers are more interested in Windows because it is a

commonly used platform (Rehman, 2019).

Competitive Edge

Linux’s competitive edge comes from its’ appeal to a specific category of customers and users.

These are people who would prioritize security, speed, cost, and ease of maintenance. For

example, speaking to LinuxLine about the benefits of switching to Linux on IBM, Kuznetsova

points out that clients can benefit from both the inherent attributes of Linux and the underlying

capabilities of IBM servers by switching to Linux on IBM. "Due to its improved flexibility with

subscription-based pricing, lack of fees for version upgrades, and compact footprint, Linux

generally presents exceptional cost reduction opportunities. Additionally, Linux operating on all

IBM servers fully utilizes the features of the underlying platforms, such as dynamic memory

upgrade on mainframes and live partition mobility on Power Systems, to offer clients exceptional

performance, virtualization, and system management capabilities." (Linux and IBM Provide

Competitive Edge, 2009)

Windows

Microsoft began developing a tool named "Interface Manager" in 1981, which is when Windows

first appeared on the scene. Under the moniker "Windows," it was first introduced in November

1983 (after the Apple Lisa but before the Macintosh), but Windows 1.0 wasn't made public until

November 1985. (A History of Windows - Microsoft Windows, 2016)

Operability

Compared to Linux and macOS windows operability is poor yet still, it is the most popular OS.

Several historical reasons can be cited for its popularity such as its early introduction of GUI,

large market share, various productivity apps, gaming convenience, pirated windows,

preinstalled OS, etc. (19 Reasons Why Windows OS Is Popular, 2021). However, windows have

some of the poorest operability features such as frequent crashes, slowing down over time, virus,

error codes, memory leak, blue screen of death, black screen, WIFI issues, battery problems, and

apps suddenly stopping, etc. (updated, 2021; Darlington, 2022)

Features

Windows have some similar features to Linux but some features that are special to Windows are

Windows shows the available physical memory, the cached operating system code, and the

allocated pool-paged-resident and pool-nonpaged memory, shows how much time the CPU

spends on user processes, and system processes, has a start menu, has tablet mode in Windows

10, has a game center which can be connected with XBOX, has multiple desktops and task

views, has Cortana assistant manager, unified settings and action center (Low, 2014; Operating

System Performance Metrics, n.d.).

Strength

Windows looks good for GUI, is easy to learn, has lots of productivity apps, has good gaming

functionalities and support, has an app store, has some decent diagnostic and administrative

tools, and setting up is easier than Linux, and has a large support base among other strengths.
8|Page

Weakness

Windows is costly and some services require paid subscriptions. Windows is less secure than

Linux and macOS. Windows can be slow over time and its performance is reduced and requires

frequent updates which sometimes fail as well.

Competitive Edge

Based on the competitive strength of Office and cloud products, Morningstar gives Microsoft a

significant economic moat. The three divisions that makeup Microsoft's business are more

personal computing, intelligent clouds, and productivity and business processes. (Downie, 2019)

macOS

Steve Jobs launched NeXT after leaving Apple in 1985, and it was there that the roots of what

would eventually become macOS could be found. Before being released in 1989, the Unix-like

NeXTSTEP operating system was created there. With extra kernel layers and low-level user

space code inherited from portions of BSD, NeXTSTEP's kernel is based on the Mach kernel,

which was first created at Carnegie Mellon University. (01_SysOver, 1995)

Operability

macOS has been more operable than Windows given its proprietary nature. As Apple develops

both the hardware and the OS there are fewer issues facing macOS. Apple has thus been able to

provide consistent performance, security, and support to its home users. Providing quality user

experience has been a top priority for macOS and they have been delivering it consistently.

Features

macOS uses proprietary hardware. With OS X, you get a completely integrated system in which

hardware and software interact flawlessly to provide you with the finest Mac experience
9|Page

possible. The fact that your Mac's apps can communicate with those on your iOS devices is due

to the practical iCloud. To give you an example, anything you do in apps on your Mac will also

be reflected on your other iOS devices. (Poole, 2021)

Strength

macOS has fewer virus attacks than Windows, has good customer support, consistent GUI for all

its products, provides great speed and availability and due to its superior hardware provides long

life. It also supports the Windows file system and can run Windows. (Rehman, 2019b)

Weakness

macOS is the most expensive, provides less software than Windows, has poor support for

gaming, and has no hardware customization. macOS also does not provide cloud or server

services like Windows and Linux.

Competitive Edge

Security, ease of use, hardware-software harmony, and superior quality of the hardware is what

make macOS standout from the rest. With Apple, you are in control.

Conclusion

This short article discusses on major OS through their operability, features, strengths,

weaknesses, and competitive edge. No OS can be regarded as the best but each one is tailored to

a specific customer base solving specific problems. For example, Linux is best when it comes to

speed, performance, security, and availability at the enterprise level but when it comes to

productivity and home users Linux scores pretty bad. However, macOS tops when it comes to

home users and ease of use, whereas Windows triumphs in gaming and productivity apps. As for

my own use I prefer Windows due to its productivity apps and access to steam gaming.
10 | P a g e

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